Don’t cheat yourself

Think a minute…Imagine you’re in school and your teacher gives your class a really hard test. You’re scared and nervous because you didn’t study.

But then you see the smartest girl in the class is sitting right beside you and you can clearly see her paper and all her answers.

What would you do? Probably everyone has a chance to cheat and be dishonest at some time.

In fact, many of us are tempted every day to cheat or do something wrong—like the famous sprinter from Canada named Ben Johnson.

In the 1988 World Olympics, Ben Johnson won the gold medal in the 100 meter dash. He finally beat his #1 rival, Carl Lewis. However, the very next morning Johnson lost his medal! Medical tests showed that he had cheated by using strong drugs and steroids to build his muscles for the race. So Ben Johnson’s gold medal was awarded instead to Carl Lewis only one day after the race!

We may think that cheating doesn’t hurt anybody and that it can only help us, but it’s a lie. Cheating always steals something from the other person that rightfully belongs to them. It doesn’t matter if it’s cheating on a school test, in sports, or stealing money and possessions.

Whether it’s breaking the law, not paying your full taxes owed to the government, or cheating and being unfaithful to your wife or husband. But cheating is just not smart. We not only hurt and steal from that other person, but we cheat ourselves! We become the biggest loser. And once we start cheating, it’s very hard to stop.

Nothing you ever get through cheating can replace what you lost: your right relationship with your Maker, as well as your self-respect and honor. You can only get these with an honest heart and character. Plus, we can never be completely satisfied with the things we get by cheating or stealing.

Even when we think we’re getting away with it, we’re not! We’re the one who has to live with our guilt and God’s judgment that we can never escape. So don’t fool yourself—you WILL pay for it!

But today that can all change and you can be free. You can ask Jesus to forgive you for the cheating you’ve done in your life, and to give you the willpower you need to start changing and living His truly successful, honest way every day. It’s only then that you can get the real happiness and peace of mind you can’t find anywhere else. Just Think a Minute…